Barcelona is a city brimming with art, and culture. However, it may be time to step off the beaten track and venture out of the city in search of something a little more surreal…
Dalí Museo Teatre Figueres
A museum dedicated to Dalí
The Teatro-Museo Dalí building is the world’s largest surrealist object. It was once the town’s Municipal Theatre, and was destroyed at the end of the Spanish Civil War. Dalí occupied, renovated, and redesigned this now truly awe inspiring structure, turning it into a temple for all things surreal and sensational.
The collection spans from Dalí’s early sketches and research to some of his most highly sought after pieces like “The Persistence of Memory” (more commonly known as “Melting Clocks”), “Galarina”, one of the many portraits of his wife and muse Gala, or “Woman at the Window” which depicts Dalí’s sister looking out onto a surreal pool.
Dalí’s Cadillac in Figueres
Surrealist objects
As you arrive at the entrance of the museum you can expect to be greeted by golden alien-like statues that line the roof tops; as you continue through to the main entrance you will find yourself inside a circular walled garden, face to face with a 1941 Cadillac that just so happens to have a giant boat dripping with a blue tear drops suspended above it. Pop a coin into the car, and lo and behold, it starts to rain inside the vehicle!
The foyer of the building is topped by a gigantic glass dome made up of fragments of thick glass that illuminates the colossal canvas image of a torso with a cracked skull and a huge doorway passing through it. From here on in you must explore left to right, top to bottom and all the way around. That is the beauty of this exhibition, it is both interactive and unique in its layout and content.
The Mae West room
If this sounds like a perfectly weird and wonderful day out, then organize your trip now. The Teatro-Museu Dalí is an absolute one-of-a-kind inspirational place that is visited every year by thousands of people from all over the world. Entrance to the museum is 12€.
More info: www.salvador-dali.org
Getting to Figueres from Barcelona, by public transport:
Direct trains run from Barcelona Sants to Figueres. Regional trains take 2 hours and cost 24€ return, whilst a faster train takes 1 hour 40 minutes and costs 32€ one way. www.renfe.es . Buses depart from Barcelona Estación del Nord. The bus journey takes 3 hours and costs 38€ return. www.barcelonanord.cat
